Democrats Revive Immigration Push

Democratic leaders in Congress have agreed to try to pass immigration legislation this year, placing the explosive issue ahead of an energy bill on their agenda and upending conventional wisdom that it was dead for now.

Democrats hope the measure will quell frustration among Hispanic voters at inaction on immigration in advance of the fall elections, where those voters could be crucial in many races. A comprehensive bill would include a path to citizenship for those in the U.S. illegally, a priority for immigrant advocates but something opponents deride as amnesty.

"It's a moral imperative and a political imperative," said a Democratic leadership aide.

For Republicans, the issue presents both opportunities and perils. Some Republican strategists argue that an immigration battle will divide Democrats, which could help the GOP. The issue could be damaging to some conservative House Democrats who face tough races this fall in swing districts.

ENLARGE

A U.S. Border Patrol agent in March near a fence along the Mexican border about 15 miles east of San Diego. An immigration bill being drafted would try to better secure U.S. borders.
European Pressphoto Agency

"If Democrats want to add to an already unpopular agenda by bringing up an issue that highlights divisions in their own caucus, they will be making a bad political environment even worse," said Paul Lindsey, a spokesman for the National Republican Campaign Committee, which works to elect Republicans to the House.

In a leadership meeting late Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he would bring immigration legislation to the floor this year, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said she would try to move the bill if it passed the Senate first, according to three Democratic officials. With limited time available for action this year, both leaders said they would put immigration ahead of energy on their priority list, the officials said.

Previously, leaders were noncommittal on when they would bring the bill up.

Hispanic lawmakers and advocacy groups have begun complaining loudly that the issue keeps getting put off. "It's important for Democrats in the long run to retain the support of the Latino community," said a Democratic Senate aide involved in the conversations. "If you don't move on immigration and don't make a good-faith effort…I don't think you get anywhere. You disillusion a base that is yours to lose."

Democrats eyeing the Hispanic voting bloc include Mr. Reid, who faces a tough re-election race in his home state of Nevada, where 15% of voters in 2008 were Hispanic. Democrats running in other states with large Hispanic populations include Sens. Barbara Boxer of California and Michael Bennet of Colorado.

If Republicans emerge from a legislative battle with an anti-immigrant image, they could lose ground with the increasingly large and active group of Hispanic voters. In 2008, two-thirds of Hispanics voted for Barack Obama for president.

In addition to creating a path to citizenship, legislation being written by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) and Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) would try to better secure U.S. borders and establish a guest-worker program. It would also develop a biometric identification card to make sure employers only hire people in the U.S. legally.

Passing a bill would require Republican support in the Senate. So far, Sen. Graham is the only Republican working on the issue. He has said he wouldn't introduce it without at least one other Republican on board. None has come forth.

Last month, Mr. Obama promised Sens. Graham and Schumer that he would try to recruit another GOP sponsor. This week, he called at least five Senate Republicans seeking their support.

Sen. Scott Brown (R., Mass.), who spoke Tuesday with the president, said he promised to read the bill but made no commitments about supporting it.

"I told him I have an open mind," Mr. Brown said in an interview. "I will read anything."

Mr. Obama also pitched Republican Sens. George LeMieux of Florida, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Richard Lugar of Indiana.

Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) led the fight for an immigration bill in 2007 but backed off that stance when he was running in the Republican presidential primaries. He has further stepped away from the issue as he faces a re-election challenge from a conservative Republican in Arizona. This week, he proposed a 10-point border-security plan and suggested he would try to block a broader immigration bill if the border wasn't secured first.

News that congressional leaders plan to move immigration higher on their agenda underscores the uncertain prospects for the energy legislation.

Sens. John Kerry (D., Mass.), Graham and Joseph Lieberman (I., Conn.) are expected to release a draft of a climate and energy bill by Monday. Their bill would create a mechanism by which various industries could trade credits allowing for the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

A more comprehensive House measure appears to be dead in the Senate.

People familiar with the deliberations of the three senators say their measure would focus on curbing emissions from electric power plants and block the Environmental Protection Agency from implementing a plan to regulate carbon dioxide as a pollutant.

The senators had been discussing the idea of using an indirect tax on gasoline to substitute for emissions caps on the oil industry, according to people familiar with the discussions. The White House last week said President Obama wouldn't support an increase in the current federal gas tax of 18.4 cents a gallon, and Messrs. Graham and Kerry have disavowed the idea of a gas-tax increase.

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